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Faculty group supports student criticism of conservative scholar

By Sarah Kuta, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
04/03/2014 07:41:55 PM MDT

Updated:
04/04/2014 10:18:27 AM MDT

Steven Hayward (Jeremy Papasso / Camera file photo)

The chairman of the Boulder Faculty Assembly at the University of Colorado said he feels a blog post written by Steven Hayward, the school's first-ever visiting scholar of conservative thought, borders on hate speech.

The day after CU Student Government leaders spoke out against Hayward's "oppressive and discriminatory" ideas, the Boulder Faculty Assembly discussed statements made by the professor and whether it should respond officially as a faculty group.

"I found this offensive, bordering on what I think most people would say is hate speech," Chairman Paul Chinowsky told the group during a meeting Thursday. "If any (other) faculty member said this, we would find ourselves in a dean's office or possibly on suspension for writing this. I applaud the students for having the nerve to stand up to this. The question is, are we going to allow this or condone this from someone in our own faculty?"

In the post, Hayward poked fun at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community — referring to the community as "LGBTQRSTUW (or whatever letters have been added lately)" — and expressed his discomfort and confusion with university training about how to respect a student's gender identity.

Hayward, who was not present at the meeting Thursday, has said that he did not feel he has ever made a student feel uncomfortable or unsafe in his classroom.

Will Hauptman, who is enrolled in "Constitutional Law II" with Hayward, said the professor maintains a respectful and professional classroom environment.

Hauptman added that Hayward does not promote a political agenda in class and has included the university's suggested statement about preferred gender pronouns in his syllabus for the class.

"He treats students with respect and courtesy," Hauptman said. "He has never belittled anyone's ideas or statements. Students participate frequently in class, and I think that speaks to their comfort with Hayward."

Chinowsky opened up the meeting Thursday for discussion about what, if any, action should be taken by the faculty.

The Boulder Faculty Assembly represents faculty members from all schools and colleges on the Boulder campus and is empowered by the Board of Regents to set academic policy and advise administrators.

The assembly expresses itself through motions and resolutions.

Some faculty members expressed concern that a statement of disapproval from the faculty might provoke Hayward or provide fodder for future blog posts or statements.

"The moment we come out and say something, no matter how nicely we state it, 'While we respect diversity of opinion, at the same time we have a responsibility to uphold the dignity —' as soon as we engage in this, he's going to spin this as, 'There you go, I was attacked by the liberal faculty at CU,' said Keller Kimbrough, an associate professor in Asian languages and civilizations. "I would be inclined to simply ignore this, myself."

Others expressed a desire to support the students and their views, and the university's policies in support of diversity and non-discrimination.

The university's official non-discrimination policy states that the campus will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based upon protected classes, which include race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or veteran status.

CU law professor Aya Gruber said while she disagreed with the substance of Hayward's comments, she didn't want the faculty to become the "free speech police."

"I don't like what he said, but I want the right to say that I don't like what he said," Gruber said. "He has an absolute right to say what he wants, but along with that right, he has to expect this kind of backlash when you say things that are deliberately provocative and not very well thought out."

The assembly ultimately decided to vote on a resolution at a future meeting to voice its support for the students, but speaking for himself, Chinowsky said he didn't think that measure will go far enough.

He said if the university expects its students to respect diversity, the faculty members need to show their support for inclusion and a welcoming, safe campus.

"I don't think we should allow that behavior, even if somebody is doing it for effect," he said. "It's offensive, and there's no place for that in this community.

"We have an obligation to really support all members of the community here, and if we're not, then what are we saying to the students?"

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